Second Chance
by stargazer 1017
Summary: A second chance occurs only once-but for some, it might be a last chance. Last Book in "Road to Completion" Trilogy - Chapter 5 now up!
1. Split Image

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers in Space--the cool arsenal, the awesome powers, the wonderful people. . .nope, they don't belong to me. They belong to Disney.

Author's Notes: Okay, it the last book in the "Road to Completion" trilogy people! Thank you for sticking around and reading it! I hope you've enjoyed the series. As always, please read and review!

Second Chance  
Part one: Split Image  
By: stargazer_1017

Where am I? _The man flew his eyes open and tried to focus on what was in front of him. The face of an old man loomed overhead and the man straightened immediately. "Who are you?" he demanded, jumping up from the make-shift bed he was laying on. Pain shot through him immediately. "Wh--Where am I?" he choked out._

The old man held his hands up and said something in languge he couldn't understand. The man narrowed his eyes and frowned. "Who are you?" he asked coarsely, trying to ignore the pain still inhibiting his thoughts. Again, the old man spoke, but he still couldn't be understood. 

The man felt a hand being placed on his shoulders. "We will not hurt you," the heavily-accented voice spoke behind him. The man dropped to his knees, unable to bear the pain any longer. "Please, rest."

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. The next thing the man remembered was being helped from the floor back onto the bed. "You must rest. These injuries. . .they do not heal in a night." The man wasn't sure he heard right, but when another surge of pain went through him, he was forced to do what he was told--and fell into an unconscious sleep.

***

_Months Later. . ._ "And you said this was easy!" Cassie groaned. Andros grinned. "It is easy! When I told you that, I was telling you the truth!" "Yeah? Then why have I only been able to move a peanut from one end of the table to the other?" Cassie asked, plopping down on the seat. She gestured at the cup on her left. "That cup hasn't budged an inch--no wait, not even a centimeter." "You'll get it, I promise. Though I don't think that it's taken anyone I know **this** long to get even a cup of water moving. . ." Cassie feigned an angry look at Andros and pretended to tackle him--only to have Andros grab her by the arms and envelop her in a hug from behind. "And I guess we could get more done if we stopped **this** too," Cassie pointed out, looking up at him "You mean this isn't helping? I thought it would make you concentrate better," Andros joked, tightening his hold around Cassie. Cassie groaned. "You've got to be kidding me. . .concentrate better? I think I'm getting even more distracted." She put her hands on Andros', which were on her hips, and gave them a quick squeeze before getting out of his hold. "As much as I love the hugs, I want to get this done. I want to at least move _something_." She walked towards the table--then turned around and gave Andros a quick kiss. "Nothing personal." Andros smiled as Cassie turned around again and headed towards the table. "I won't take it personal this time, but the next time is a different story." He walked around the table to be directly across from Cassie. "Just concentrate on the cup moving, Cass. Feel it moving in your mind." He watched as Cassie closed her eyes and concentrated. He looked back down at the cup. Nothing. "Is it moving yet?" Cassie asked. "No," Andros replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "Augh!" Cassie flew her eyes open and threw her right hand out. Suddenly, the cup flew off the table. Andros jumped out of the way to avoid being hit by the cup. He looked at Cassie. "Did I just. . ." Andros grinned. "Yeah! You actually moved the cup!" he announced proudly. Cassie grinned back at him. "Really?" She jumped up and down. "I can't believe it! Now all I have to do. . .is. . .get angry? Is that how I move things from now on?" Her expression changed from excitement to confusion. "Well, now that we know what can spark your 'inner energy', all you have to do is harness that power and then you'll be able to move things _without_ using anger." Cassie took a seat. "How did it start with you? Or you could basically move dozens of cups at one time when you first started out," she teased. Andros smiled as he took a seat in the chair next to her. "No--believe it or not, we all start out the way that you did. I could barely move a pencil the first time I tried, but we usually start off at an early age, so I had a lot of time to improve. I don't really remember too much about training to use our telekentic powers." "So how'd you know you could barely move a pencil?" Andros rolled his eyes. "My dad took a video of the learning process." Cassie smiled. "Ah, so that tradition still stays the same," she said. She looked around. "Got it onboard?" "What?" "The video? I'd love to see it. . ." "No way, _no way_. . ." Andros said, shaking his head. Cassie put her hand on his knee. "Oh come on, Andros, it'd be fun! Besides, I don't think you've watched home videos in awhile anyway. Time to go through memory lane." "I'd rather not. . ." "Come on!" Cassie grinned. "If you show me that video, I'll show you a video of my third birthday party." Andros raised his eyebrow. "What's so special about your third birthday party?" "My mom flew cake into my face right after I blew out the candles--and I had a few accidents during the whole party," Cassie replied. _She doesn't seem embarassed,_ Andros thought as he looked at Cassie's shining face. "You don't seem embarassed to even let me see it," Andros said. "Well, I am but I figured an embarassing home video for another," Cassie pointed out. Andros looked slightly hesitant--and then groaned. Cassie was pouting her lips slightly. "Oh no, not the pout. . ." he groaned. "It works all the time," Cassie pointed out, still managing to keep the pout on her face. "Please Andros? Please?" Andros stared at her and then gave in. "All right, all right--but you promise, no one sees the video except for you." "As long as you promise the same." Andros leaned over and gave her a kiss. "It's a deal." 

***

"I'll kill them--I'll kill them all." The young woman with long, dark hair stumbled and fell on the sidewalk. "If it's the last thing I do. . ." she said, taking a deep breath and trying to regain herself. "Well look here. Looks like this young girl has fallen and can't get up. . ." a voice taunted from above the woman. She glared up at the two men, wearing leather jackets and jeans, with chains around their necks. She noted that one had a club in his left hand. "And no one to help," the other man, who was shorter than the first man that spoke, said. Both men laughed. Suddenly, they stopped laughing. "Give us your money, lady," the first man demanded. The woman snorted--then broke out into laughter. The men glared at her. "What the hell are you laughing at, lady?" the shorter man demanded. "I said give us your fricken money!" The woman laughed even louder and harder. "You--" she choked out before continuing her laugh. She kept on laughing for a few moments until one of the men grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her up. Before he could even get a word out, the woman kicked him in the groin and shoved him away. She could feel herself transforming back as she called for her staff. "What the--" the short man stammered as he started to back away. "You idiots! You dare to try and mug me? You obviously have no idea who you're **MESSING WITH**." Her expression had now changed into a harsh and furious look. "I'm **Astronema**! And no one--**no one** attempts to kick my ass and get away with it alive." She aimed her staff at the short man and was about to shoot when the other man knocked her off her feet. "Let's get out of here!" one of the men cried out. Astronema could hear the pounding footsteps head away from her. She jumped to her feet--only to fall back in a dizzy spell. "Get away from her," Astronema heard a voice say. She looked up--and gasped. "What the fuck. . ." She was looking up into her own image! Her otherself was looking at her cautiously. "Had the same question on my mind," the other woman said. She grabbed her staff and aimed it at her. "You better talk--now, or I'll blow that head of yours so fast that the last thing you'll ever see will be me. Who are you?" Astronema narrowed her eyes. It was all too weird--this woman certainly sounded like her. "I'm Astronema," she growled up at the woman. The other woman narrowed her eyes. "That's impossible. _I'm_ Astronema." 

***

"Think she'll like these?" Andros asked Cassie as they headed towards the Glider Bay. He was holding a container in his hand. "I mean, I tried." "I'm sure that's all she'll ask for," Cassie replied reassuringly. "My mom totally adores you." Andros shrugged and followed Cassie up the steps--then frowned when he noticed the red blinking light above his Glider Chute. "That's strange," he muttered, walking over to the jump tube and looking in. "Your Galaxy Glider's missing?" Cassie asked. "Is that even possible?" "I've never encountered it," Andros replied. He paused for a moment and turned back to Cassie. "Don't worry about it--I'll just get the reserve Glider in the Weapons Bay and meet you at your mother's house." Cassie nodded. "All right. I'll see you there," she agreed. She jumped into the tube and after landing on Earth, she demorphed and walked up the path to her mother's front door. _It's so beautiful today_, Cassie thought as she squinted and looked up at the clear blue sky. _Perfect day for a picnic._ A loud, rustling sound made Cassie break out of her reverie. Cassie frowned as she tiptoed to look over the bushes surrounding the Costello's house. _This is getting weird_, Cassie thought as she walked away from the door and headed towards the sidewalk. "Anyone there?" Cassie asked uncertainly. Just as she was almost to the sidewalk, Quantrons popped up. Cassie's heart lept in her throat but she regained her composure quickly and got into a fighting stance. Then another sight made her lose her composure again. "What the. . ." She watched as _two_ Astronemas approached her. One of them smiled at her evilly, and crooned, "Well, if it isn't one of my sworn enemies. . .must be my lucky day. I finally get to kill you." Cassie glared at her--and then at the other Astronema. "I don't know what kind of game you're trying to play, Astronema, but it won't work." "Always that tough talk. Tell me, what does it take to get you to **scream**?" With that, Astronema lept forward and threw a kick at Cassie. Cassie dodged out of the way and tried to get a kick in, but Astronema was too quick and she back-flipped to avoid the attack. Cassie winced as she felt something hit her on the side and realized the other Astronema had gotten into the fight as well. Cassie was too stunned to react, and before she knew it, she was flipped on her back. She winced in pain and tried to look up at her attackers, but the sun was glaring down at her, making it hard for her to see anything clearly. "Back off!" Cassie heard Andros yell out. Then she heard the sound of his laser gun firing--and hitting something. Cassie propped herself up on her elbows and looked up. She noted that one of the Astronemas was hit. Andros, who was still morphed, jumped off his glider and landed in front of Cassie. He held his arm out to shield her. "You okay?" he asked, concerned. Cassie nodded, wincing slightly. "What's going on?" she asked, as she got up slowly. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Before Andros could reply, the uninjured Astronema grabbed onto her split image. "We'll be back," she growled. A moment later, she and the other woman disappeared along with the Quantrons. Cassie grabbed onto Andros' arm for support. "What--what was that all about?" she demanded. She frowned when she felt Andros tense. "Andros?" "I think we better go back to the Megaship," Andros replied mysteriously. He turned around and held her by the shoulders. "It's something I've been fearing for awhile now." _To be continued. . ._


	2. Confusing Questions

Disclaimer: See Part One

Author's Notes: I apologize for the long wait! Life likes to weave it's way into my plans and take control. Thank you to those still waiting around to read the story and also to those who gave their gentle "pushes" to finish the story. I'm working on it now! As always, please review--and for more Andros/Cassie goodness, please visit my website!

Second Chance  
Part two: Confusing Questions  
By: stargazer1017

"There!" Ashley grinned, tucking behind her ear a loose strand of dark blonde hair that made its way to her face. She turned to Zhane, who was walking behind her slugglishly, holding a few bags. "I think I'm done for the day." Zhane rolled his eyes and caught up to Ashley. "Finally done. After about what, half a year you finally decide to call it quits? Might as well keep going," he said sarcastically. He cracked a smile when Ashley playfully slapped him on the arm. "Well, it's that time of the year when everyone seems to be having birthdays and other occasions that require a gift or two in celebration," Ashley explained. "I'm not doing it for me." She and Zhane turned into a deserted alleyway. Pressing a few buttons on their communicator, they were teleported from Earth to the Megaship. Zhane shook his head as they walked towards their respected quarters. "Strange custom, Earthers have," he said thoughtfully. When Ashley raised her eyebrows in question, Zhane pointed out, "Kerovians don't really celebrate anything--at least not only a day. We like to think that everyday is a celebration. We celebrate everyday." "Well, we do that too," Ashley pointed out. "There's something special on the day of your actual birth, or the actual day that you get married. I guess that's why we do it." Zhane opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when Carlos suddenly walked up quickly behind them. "Carlos--" Ashley started just as Carlos tried to pass them, but Carlos stopped her before she could get another word out. "It's Cassie. She was hurt on Earth," Carlos quickly explained. "She's in the Med Bay--come on!" Ashley and Zhane nodded and ran off behind Carlos towards the Med Bay. Ashley breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Cassie grumble, "I'm fine, really. They just got a hit on me, that's it." As Ashley, Carlos, and Zhane walked in, they saw Cassie sitting up on the bed, with Andros and T.J. watching her in concern. Alpha was walking around busily, checking the stats on the monitors. "What happened?" Zhane asked. Cassie and Andros exchanged glances, and then Andros turned back to Zhane and the others. "Cassie was attacked--by two Astronemas." "Two?" Carlos asked in disbelief. "How?" "I don't know," Cassie shook her head. "It was weird. They just. . .came at me. And it was all happening so fast, I guess that's what took me by surprise." Andros sighed. "The other Astronema felt familiar, somehow. . ." When the others look at Andros in question, he explained, "Like I had met her before somewhere, but I can't place it. She seemed a bit more. . .crazy." Andros shook his head. _What is going on?_ he thought as he looked back at Cassie and reached for her hand. Cassie suddenly gasped. "My mom--I think they were after my mom!" "God, I hate them!" Astronema fumed. She opened her hand and an energy ball appeared in her hand. She clenched her hand and the energy ball disappeared. She ran her hands through her hair and tried to calm her breathing. "Nice hair," a voice spoke behind her. "Red is very fitting on us." Astronema watched as her counterpart smiled a sinister smile and ran her hands through her own purple hair. Then she turned to a small mirror to her left. Her hair was red--short red. She felt her short hair on her shoulders as she turned back to her twin. "Just who the hell are you anyway? You never answered my question." The woman with the purple hair smiled again. "I'm you--exactly like you, except I've got more guts and control than you have." "Control?" Astronema snorted. "You look lot loonier than I do, bitch." She opened her hand on her staff appeared. "Now, I'm asking you again--who the hell are you?" The woman kept the smile on her face. Suddenly it turned into a snarl as she got up and knocked the staff from Astronema's hands and held it in her own. In one swift move she knocked Astronema off her feet and then put the edge of the staff against Astronema's throat. "If I were you, I'd believe what I say and I'd concentrate on debilitating that Pink Ranger. You're just wasting time fighting with yourself." Astronema felt a chill go down her spine at how cold the other woman sounded. She narrowed her eyes. "So what did you have in mind," she asked. Again, the purple-haired woman smiled. "We go after Cassie's mom." Astronema felt her stomach go queasy for a second as she blinked and then was suddenly back outside the Pink Ranger's home. The other woman moved the staff away from her throat and Astronema got up. "We already tried this, remember? We didn't count on the Red Ranger to be there." Astronema frowned thoughfully. "So. . .now that no one's here, we can attack?" She smiled. "Excellent." She grabbed her staff back from the other Astronema with the purple hair and looked towards the doorway. She held her staff up and was about to fire when pain shot through her back. She growled as she turned to see who had struck her from behind. "Bitch," she growled at the colorful array of colors behind her. "I should say the same about you," Cassie growled. "Must be the hair that's getting into your brain--the saying about trying something again and again until it works doesn't apply to low-lives like you too. I don't know what you're up to, Astronema--" "Save the talk, Pink Ranger," the Astronema with the purple hair broke in. "I'm tired of listening to you." She held up her hand and an energy bolt appeared. The rangers dodged out the way as she threw the ball at them. "Whoa, when could Astronema do that?" T.J. called out. "I'm sick of this," Astronema said, grabbing her staff and running towards the rangers. "This is the last time you'll meddle in my business. This is the last straw. The red hair swiftly moved from her face as she ran and wildly started attacking the rangers. She had gotten them off guard for only a second, but the rangers recovered quickly and started hitting her back. The other Astronema smiled and twirled her purple hair around her fingers. "Perfect opportunity," she crooned. She started to turn around and head towards the stairs when a flash of black caught her eyes. Her eyes widened as her gaze focused on the person standing in front of the door. Her lips curved upward in a sinister smile. "So. . .my hunches were right." _It was another Andros._ Cassie grunted as she rolled out of the way of the wildly swinging staff. She took a deep breath as she watched her friends engage in the fight with the red-haired villan. The fight had taken them onto the street, a few feet away from the house. She was ready to call out to the others when Andros suddenly called out, "Cassie, go!" Cassie had to grin behind her helmet. She nodded and ran off towards the house--then suddenly stopped in her tracks. Andros, unmorphed, was fighting with the other Astronema right in front of her eyes. "Wha--" Cassie gasped. She turned to look back on the street and saw Andros, morphed, fighting with the short-haired Astronema. _I'm not seeing things! There are two of them!_ Andros had also stopped in his tracks when Cassie had appeared. "Cassie. . ." he said, turning pale. This was the distraction that Astronema needed, and she knocked the man down to the ground. Astronema turned towards Cassie. "I guess you're next," she snarled. As she was about to attack, a scream rang out in the air. Cassie turned quickly to look and saw the short-haired Astronema on the ground. Cassie could barely hear what the other woman yelled out, but she disappeared in a flash of purple. Cassie turned back around to the other Astronema. The other woman's eyes were narrowed. "This isn't the end, Pink Ranger. I'll get you back for what you did to me." With that, she disappeared in a flash of purple lightning. "Cassie. . ." the unmorphed Andros called out to her, struggling to get up. Cassie backed away--into another person. Cassie quickly pulled away and turned around to see who she had bumped into. _Now he's morphed!_ "What is going on?" Cassie cried outloud. The morphed Andros reached towards her again, but Cassie held her hands up. "I want to know what's going on," Cassie argued. "Why the hell are there two of you?" The unmorphed Andros got up slowly and held his hands up. "I'm not here to hurt you. . .either of you. I'm Andros. . .if we can go back to the Megaship, I can explain." "How do we know we can trust you," the morphed Andros shot back. "After all, Astronema had her double here. How do we know you're not someone here to deceive us?" "You have no choice," the other man replied. "All I ask is that you trust me." The other rangers were still obviously hesitating with the choices. "Please." _To be continued. . ._


	3. Fatal Ideas Lead to a Discovery

Disclaimer: See Part One

Author's Notes: Here ya go, Vamp Charisma grins I wrote out this chapter for ya! Thanks so much to you and others who have been supportive of my fanfiction. I deeply appreciate your support. This is my promiseevery chapter every week!

Second Chance  
Part three: Fatal Ideas Lead to a Discovery  
By: stargazer1017

The five rangers stood before the cloaked man. Andros narrowed his eyes, hidden behind his helmet. "You're obviously someone you claim to be, if you can teleport onto the Megaship," Andros reasoned. The other man nodded. "But we still don't trust you. Two Astronemasthen two of us. How do we know it's not a trap?"The cloaked man's face was covered by the hood, but Andros saw a bitter smile creep on his face. "If I had really wanted to hurt you all, don't you think I would have attacked you all instead of attacking Astronema?" His expression softened and he lowered the hood covering his head. Cassie had to stop herself from gasping. She didn't realize how much the other Andros looked worn down and beaten, and she could see the grief in his eyes. "I have somehow stumbled onto your reality when mine was destroyed."Without warning, the Red Ranger demorphed. His eyes were wide as he approached the cloaked man. "Brenan?" he asked suddenly. While the other rangers frowned in confusion, the cloaked man's eyes widened."Brenan. . ." he repeated. "The only person to ever call me that. . ." he shook his head. "No, this can't be""I was the Andros that stumbled onto your dimension," Andros finished, his mind racing. _How is it that he's here as well? Unless that explosion. . ._"Whoa. . .wait a minute, what is going on here?" Zhane spoke up, breaking the interaction between the two identical men. He and the other rangers detransformed. "Brenan? Wasn't he. . ." He trailed off, unassure of how to finish.The cloaked man blinked several times and then closed his eyes. When he opened them, he gave a faint smile. "I'm glad to see you made it back home," he said softly. He shook his head and swallowed. "Andros. . .was in my dimension when Astronema's mission was fulfilled."Realization struck Cassie. "Oh my God. . .you mean," she turned to Andros, "_this_ is Brenan? The _other_ you? From the other dimension? How is this even""Possible?" Andros asked. He shook his head and held his gaze with Cassie. Cassie couldn't read what was going through his mind at the moment, but she could see the myriads of emotion passing in his eyes. Before she could ask another question, Andros had turned back to Brenan. "When those blasts destroyed your universe, I had assumed I was the only one lucky to get out. It appears that you were lucky to get out as well.""Lucky?" Brenan gave a bitter laugh. "Surviving only to be left alone. . .my friends. . .Cassie. . ."Cassie felt her heart go out to the man, and without thinking, she walked over to him and was about to reach down and take his hands into her own. Suddenly, she realized what she was doing and instead, looked up into his eyes. _I can't even imagine what he's going through_, she thought as she tried to read the emotions in his eyes. _If I had lost everything. . .if everything I knew was gone. . .my mom, Ashley, T.J., Carlos. . .Andros. . ._Cassie felt a chill go through her. His eyes were conveying too many emotionsall dealing with pain and grief. "Cassie," Brenan whispered.Before he could get another word out, Cassie spoke up again. "You need help, Brenan. Why don't we take you to the Med Bay to get you cleaned up?" she asked."Here, why don't I take you?"Brenan turned to the voice. Zhane had walked over to him and Cassie when she started talking. Brenan had been so busy concentrating on the woman in front of him, everything around them disappeared from his thoughts. "We can catch up on times," Zhane continued. _What times,_ Brenan thought inwardly, but didn't push it. Suddenly, he could feel the weight of his previous injuries and nodded.He gave Cassie one last look before he and Zhane walked out of the room. Cassie sighed and turned back to the others. T.J. raised an eyebrow. "Intense, huh?" he said.Cassie shook her head and looked at Andros. She gave him a soft smile and asked softly, "What are you thinking?"Andros looked at her. "This is just to weird. I thought I was lucky to survive that blast. . .and here several months later, we learn that my other counterpart made it too." He shook his head. "If Brenan made it out here, then that means the other Astronema. . ."Ashley's eyes widened. "You mean, she probably came from the other dimension too!"Andros nodded. "If she's here, then we might all be in danger." 

"I'm so sick of this!" Astronema spat out. An energy bolt appeared in her hand in frustration, she flung it at the nearest Quantron. When the Quantron blew up, another energy bolt appeared in her hand and she threw it at another Quantron."If you had wanted to get rid of your army, you might as well have sent them down to earth to be destroyed by the Power Rangers," the black-haired Astronema said. The red-haired Astronema turned to her and narrowed her eyes at the other woman who had her feet up on her small table, sitting back leisurely.With a yell, the red-haired Astronema jumped over the table and grabbed the other woman by the throat. "_You_ were the one who said we should go after Cassie's mother. _Again_. And _again_ they were therethis time, the whole cavalry was there."The black-haired woman gave a smile. The red-haired Astronema felt her blood boil at the site of her "self" smiling so calmly. "Revenge on the rangers isn't a one-time shot, my dear, uneducated self," she replied just as calmly. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."The red-haired woman's eyes widened when a thought struck her. She looked away for a moment. _Desperate times. . ._ She released her hold on the other woman. "You know what I mean," she heard the black-haired woman say. She looked at the other woman. "You know exactly what to do." The black-haired woman got up and started walking to the front of the table. "Our loyalty has been questioned by many. . .and many are starting to doubt our status as the Princess of Evil." She turned back to the red-haired woman. "Am I correct?"The red-haired Astronema nodded, but said nothing. The other woman continued. "In my dimension, I was able to achieve my revenge. I hate the Pink Ranger. I hate her with all that I have. . .everytime I look at your face. . ." she looked at the red-haired woman, "I am constantly reminded of what she did to me.""Your dimension?" the red-haired woman echoed.The other woman nodded. "Obviously, I was not the only one who made it out of the doomed dimension. That man. . .he's probably here to warn them.""All I want is revenge," the red-haired Astronema said. "I don't care much for storiesall I want is revenge.""You feel it. . .the anger. . ." the black-haired Astronema said. "And I'll help you achieve it. End life and all its misery."The red-haired woman's eyes widened. _End life?_ Before she could say a word, the other woman spoke up again. "You understood what I meant when I said 'Desperate times call for Desperate Measures'. Use them.""No one has been able to contain them, except for the Wizard," the red-haired Astronema said. "Even as desperate as I am""What difference does it make?" the other woman shrieked. "Your loyalty's being questioned. . .in the end, nothing matters. As long as you can destroy everyone, your revenge will be fulfilled."The red-haired woman paused for a moment. "The planet is being monitored by the Rangers. If I get close enough, they'll be notified."The black-haired woman gave a chilling smile. "I'll deal with them. If I'm correct, you won't need to worry about them finding you." 

Zhane crossed his arms as he tried to listen to Alpha talk to Brenan about his health situation, but he had a hard time concentrating. Zhane knew it was a shock for Brenan to see him. After Zhane had awoken from his camatose state, Andros had confided in him the details of what happened in the other demension.Zhane and Andros had been best friends since they were young boys training to become Power Rangers. When Zhane was badly injured in a battle with one of Dark Specter's minions and went into his coma, Andros had shut himself off from anyone who tried to befriend him. Many times Andros had come to Zhane's pod to talk to him. . .unaware that Zhane could hear everything he was saying, but he wasn't able to respond back.Zhane smiled inwardly. Fortunately, Andros had run across the four Earthers who had _forced_ him to open up and shown him what it was like to be humanwhat it was like to feel again. What had surprised Zhane most of all, though, was Andros' connection to Cassie. Zhane had never seen Andros so protective of someone before, at least not in the way that he had seen with his best friend and the Pink Space Ranger. It was good to see the effect she had on him. Andros was never one to be as carefree as the pink ranger had influenced him to be, and Zhane was happy to see his best friend happy."Right, Zhane?"Alpha's voice broke Zhane out of his reverie. "I'm sorry Alpha, what?" Zhane asked.The robot shook its head. "The tools here? I think there are more in the Med Bay," Alpha repeated. Zhane gave a small laugh and nodded. Alpha nodded back and walked out of the room.Zhane turned back to Brenan. "That must have been some trip," he said lightly.Brenan smiled slightly. "Some trip," he repeated, rubbing his left arm with his right hand. He shook his head. "I never thought I'd see you again, Zhane. It's good to see you here, safe and sound."Zhane paused before speaking. "Andros told me. . .about what happened.""Did he tell you everything?"Again, another pause. "What happened in your dimension. . .will it happen here?" Zhane asked. He took a seat on a chair leaning against the wall.Brenan shook his head. "I can't be certain. Our dimensions are different. Just because something has happened in one doesn't automatically make it true for the other. After all, you're still alive." He sighed. "The odds don't look too well, though. With the Astronema from my dimension here, she might be feeding this dimension's Astronema ideas. And if she does that, I don't know if the rangers of this universe are prepared for the disaster. We sure weren't. . .""But it's not your fault."The two turned to the door, where Cassie and Andros stood. They walked to the foot of the bed. "It's not your fault," Cassie repeated."How can you say it's not my fault?" Brenan said. He shook his head. "If I was truly doing my job, none of this would have happened. We would have discovered Astronema's plan earlier and I wouldn't have lost everyone."Cassie suddenly turned to Andros and Zhane. "Would you guys excuse us?" she asked suddenly. Andros' eyes widened in question. Cassie smiled gently and reached for his hand. When she squeezed his hand, his gaze softened and he nodded at her. Brenan noticed the exchange and felt a pang, but said nothing. Andros squeezed her hand back and nodded at Zhane. Cassie watched as they left the room and she turned back to Brenan. She cleared her throat. "I can't even imagine what you've gone through. . .the pain. . ."Brenan smiled at her gently. "Seeing and hearing you makes it go away," he replied softly.Cassie looked into his eyes, fighting the heat that was climbing to her cheeks. "Andr. . .Brenan. . .I'm not"A sigh escaped Brenan. "I know, you're not her," he said quietly. "But when I look at you, I can see her. I miss her. . .I haven't told her all that I wanted to tell her before everything went away, and I'm not sure she even knew"Cassie grasped his hand. "She knows, Brenan. You were with her for a time longer than Andros and I were together, and even though things are different with you and your Cassie, I know that she knows." She gave him a smile. "We're smart like that."That got a laugh out of Brenan. "You both feel different, but you sound the same," he said. Cassie squeezed his hand."So what happens now?" Cassie asked.Brenan took a deep breath. "I don't belong here really, Cassie," he replied seriously. "I can't help feel like something's going to happen. Especially with the other Astronema here. . .I'm only hoping that what happened to end my world won't happen here as well.""Then where should we begin?"Brenan couldn't answer the question outloudat least not completely. _Where do I begin?_

"I'm going to check on the scanners," Andros said to Zhane as they walked down the hallway.Zhane nodded. "I'm hungry."Andros rolled his eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Eating. . .sleeping. . .talking. . .you do them all at the most inappropriate times," he joked with his best friend.He got a grin out of the blonde-haired man. "What did you want me to do, starve?" He gave a pat on his friend's back and continued walking down the hallway. Andros smiled as he walked into the Command Post. As the doors closed behind him, his smile dropped and he narrowed his eyes. _Something's not right._He looked around. Nothing was undisturbed, but he couldn't help shake the feeling something was wrong. The room was darker than usual.Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Before Andros could react, he was knocked to the floor. His eyes widened as he recognized the person on top of him. "Astronema!" he growled. The woman's blue eyes pierced into him as she leaned to reach for his neck. Andros reacted quickly and knocked the woman away. As she rolled away, Andros quickly got up. He watched as the woman shook her head to free the black hair that had moved to her face. "How did you""No time for talk," she growled and again moved forward to attack. Andros backflipped to avoid the jump kick Astronema thrown at him. He quickly regained his composure, but realized Astronema was no longer in front of him. Before Andros could look around, he felt a kick to his back. As he fell to the ground, he felt a kick to his stomach. _She's too fast._ Andros hadn't remembered Astronema being this fast at all. "You pathetic rangers" she kicked him again in the stomach, "are always" and came another kick, "in the way." Andros felt himself gasping for air. Pain shot through him as he tried to protect his stomach by curling into a ball. The woman above him was now gasping for breath. "And now it's time to get rid of you."Andros had to use all of his might to roll out of the way. The move surprised Astronema. In that quick moment, Andros forced himself to kick at Astronema's feet. The woman anticipated a move, however, and jumped to avoid the attack. With another yell, she reached downwards and picked Andros up. Andros' eyes widened at the physical strength she had. He had no time to react as he was being flown over the consoles. Unfortunatley, he landed on the top of his own console and rolled off the front and onto the floor.He rolled most of the way on the floor, which absorbed the pain. He took deep breaths to try and calm his body down and ignored the deep pain in his stomach. Astronema was laughing from behind T.J.'s console. "Instead of going after the Pink Ranger's mother, I should have just come after you," she said, coldly. She jumped over the console and landed between the two consoles. There was now only the first console between her and Andros. Andros watched as Anstronema gave another chilling laugh. "I get my. . ." her voice trailed off as she looked in front of her.Andros frowned. He watched as her eyes widened and she gasped. Her hands shakily made their way to her face and she gave another gasp. Andros slowly got up, confused. What had made Astronema stop? Andros cautiously started to move forward, his gaze still on the other woman. She now started blinking quickly and her body started shaking.Astronema shakily brought her hands down to her stomach and opened them. Andros suddenly realized what she was looking at. A colorful ball started floating up towards Astronema, and floated between her open hands. Andros felt his blood run cold. _How did she. . ._Astronema looked up at Andros and he saw something in her eyes. "What ishow did you get this?" she whispered.Andros forced himself to move and walked over to the side of the console, still apprehensive. He shook his head, unable to speak."**Where did this come from!**" The woman screamed. She started shaking again and the ball dropped. "I. . ." Suddenly, Andros' eyes widened as an image flashed in his head. _Karone. . ._ The image of him and his abducted younger sister playing with the ball as children flashed through his mind.He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He looked at the crazed woman in front of him. A tear ran down her face. "No. . ." she whispered. Andros' eyes widened as he suddenly saw the image of his sister replace the woman in front of him."Karone?" he asked, just as the image disappeared and was replaced with Astronema. She looked at him when he said the name. Then she shook her head. Suddenly, she spun on her heel and ran towards the door. To Andros' surprise, he felt himself run towards the door to cut off the woman. "Karone." He tried again."Augh!" Astronema cried out as she threw out a kick. Andros dodged the attack and realized something on the woman he had never seen before. A necklace. He felt for the necklace around his own neck.Astronema leaned forward to throw a punchthen stopped. Andros had opened up the locket around his neck. Again, Astronema started to tremble. "Karone. . ." Andros tried again. "It's you. . .I finally found you. . ."Astronema shook her head, trying to regain what little control she had over her actions. Too many thoughts were racing through her head and she couldn't stop the tears from falling onto her cheeks. "Get away," she warned weakly."The necklace. . .the one you have around your neck," Andros said softly._The necklace._ Astronema's eyes flew open. "No""You have the same one, Karone. Our mother gave it to us when we started training to become rangers. . .so we wouldn't lose each other. . .so we wouldn't forget.""**No!**" Astronema threw an energy bolt at Andros. Andros didn't expect the attack and tried to move out of harm's way, but his left shoulder was caught by the bolt. As he flew back, Astronema's eyes widened. _Karone. . .Why had the name struck something in her?_ She unconsciously reached for the necklace around her neck._"This connects you to your past. . .but never forget your future."_She grasped the locket around her neck unconsciously. Ecliptor had given her that cryptic message when he put the necklace around her neck. He had given it to her when he had started training her. She had never thought about her past and only focused on her future, so she hadn't even opened up the locket."It's _our_ locket, Karone. . .it connects brother and sister!" Andros said firmly. He looked up to watch Astronema's reaction. Instead, the woman dropped down to her knees. She didn't appear to have heard Andros' words, and she shakily reached to the back of her neck. She unclasped her necklace and held the locket in her right hand. Slowly, she opened the locket and gasped.Andros watched as Astronema dropped the locket. He took in a deep breaththe locket was identical to his, just as he expected. He got onto all fours and started to make his way towards his sister. "Karone" he choked.When he reached her, she threw out another punch. Luckily, Andros was able to move this time around and the weak punch missed him. When he regained his composure, he realized how frail-looking the usually powerful Astronema was. He reached towards her and she started to throw more punches at him."Don't call me that! Get away from me!" she cried out weakly. "_Get**away**_. . .get. . .away. . ." she started sobbing uncontrollably as she weakly hit Andros' chest. Andros winced slightly at the contact, but took his sister into his arms and held her tightly.As Astronema started sobbing uncontrollably, Andros tightened his hold around her, trying to stop her from shaking. "I found you, Karone. . .I finally found you. . ."Too many thoughts ran through his head. _I found her. . .Karone is Astronema. . ._His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of the doors to the Command Post opening. Andros and Astronema looked up to see Ashley and T.J. gaping at them in shock. "Andros. . ." T.J. started quietly. He stopped when Astronema suddenly jumped out of Andros' embrace. Before Andros could even call out to her, she had taken off and disappeared down the Megaship's hallway. _To be continued. . ._


	4. Baby Steps

Disclaimer: See Part One

Author's Notes: We're nearing the end! Some more questions answered, and more arise. I'm evil, aren't I? grin After much deliberation, I decided to make a "reflection" series for all the Space Rangers after the end of "Second Chance". Thanks for all who have reviewed. I really appreciate it!  
For those of you interested in reading my random babble of fics, please visit **Written in the Stars' Messageboard** or feel free to drop me a note!

Second Chance  
Part Four: Baby Steps  
By: stargazer1017

Andros sat at his console, his hands clasped together supporting his chin. "The Megaship's on lockdown," he heard T.J. confirm behind him. "No one's going anywhere."_Karone. . ._Andros was still in shock over what had just happened. After confirming with DECA that Astronema--or actually Karone, was still onboard, Andros had ordered that the ship be lockdown from teleporting to and from the ship. He wanted to keep Karone where she was. After she had run off, the news had sunk into Andros and he couldn't understand what he was feeling.He was certainly happy. Overjoyed would be the actual word to describe the feeling. After searching years for his sister, he could finally tell his parents not to worry. She was safe and sound with him.On the other hand, the other definite emotion he felt was mistrust. The same woman was also his arch enemy, one who had promised death to him several times in their encounters. The sister he knew before she was taken away from him had to be somewhere in that woman, but he knew the identity of Astronema was stronger than Karone's."Are you all right?" Cassie's voice rang through the room as the doors to the Command Post opened. She rushed over to Andros and knelt down to meet him at eye level. Andros turned to look at her, but couldn't answer her question. Instead, Cassie nodded and placed a reassuring hand on his thigh."We came as soon as we heard," Carlos spoke up, coming up a few feet from the two. "Brenan and Zhane are on their way.""Does Brenan know?" Andros asked. He knew it would be of a shock his other self."Not yet," Carlos replied. "All he knows is that something happened and he was needed here. We kinda thought. . .it would be better if it was coming from you." Andros nodded. He picked up the locket Astronema had dropped. After staring at it a few seconds, he closed it and looked towards the door. As if on cue, Zhane and Brenan walked into the Command Post."We just got the message," Zhane said. "What's going on?"Andros turned to look at Brenan. "I think. . .you better sit down for this." Brenan frowned but didn't refuse the seat Ashley had offered him. Andros took a deep breath and got up. "I'm sure you know what this is," he said, holding up the locket.Brenan nodded. "Of course I do," he said, reaching for his own necklace. "I have one too. It was given to me by my mother when I started training to be a ranger. Karone had one identical to mine.""This," Andros said, handing off the locket to Brenan, "doesn't belong to me." When Brenan raised his eyebrow, Andros reached for the locket around his neck. He held it up for Brenan to see. "_That_ locket belongs to Astronema."Brenan's eyes widened. "_Astronema_?" he asked incredulously. "How can she have the same locket?" Andros raised his eyebrows in silence. Everyone was silent as Brenan looked at each person in the room before his gaze landed back on Andros. "She can't be. . ."The only response he got from his other self was a slow nod. "But she can't. . .Astronema?" Brenan asked again. The locket fell out of his hand and landed on the console. "Karone. . ."Andros forced a light laugh. "Been there. . ." he said, knowing exactly what the other man was going through."So. . .what do we do now?" Zhane asked. "Is she even still here on the Megaship?""We locked down the Megaship," T.J. replied. "DECA said Astr--I mean, Karone, is in the Engine Room."Brenan nodded. He picked the up the locket from the console and got up suddenly. "Wait, where are you going?" Cassie asked. Brenan didn't respond as he walked out of the door. Ashley and Zhane gave Andros one quick glance before they took off running after Brenan."What are you going to do?" Ashley asked when she reached Brenan's side.Brenan stopped in his tracks and turned to Ashley. "I have to go and see if it's true. I have to see her for myself."Ashley shook her head. "You can't just go in there! Think of what she's going through.""What about what I'm going through! I find out that she _may_ be my sister? The woman who destroyed my entire universe because she hated me so much."Zhane put his hand on Brenan's shoulder. "Brenan, Ashley's right. You can't just go in there. Besides. . .this may not be the Astronema from your dimension. I don't think we've even figured that out yet."Brenan shook his head. "That's what I intend to find out," he replied firmly with an equally firm glance at Zhane. Zhane sighed and removed his hand. Brenan turned away from the two and continued walking down the hallway."What should we do?" Ashley asked as Brenan rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. "Should we stop him?"Zhane shook his head. "I think we should let him do what he wants to do.""You're not afraid he might hurt her?" Ashley questioned. She turned to Zhane, slightly worried. "I mean, I know it's Astronema. . .but. . .this just changes everything. I mean, everything we've known about her. . .""I know what you mean," Zhane sighed. "She's the reason I went into my coma. Astronema had sent a monster to KO-35 that day, and I got hurt pretty badly. I feel anger towards her as well. . .but Karone was a good friend of mine growing up as well. I can't even put the two people together."Ashley smiled gently and squeezed his arm. "I guess you can see what Brenan's going through as well.""I almost lost my life that day, but I didn't. Brenan? He lost everything he knew." - - - - - Astronema took a deep breath and blew the red hair out of her eyes. Even though she had reported to Dark Specter many times before, she was still nervous. She was thankful she had learned to hide emotions throughout the years. She looked down at the sealed box in her hands. No one had even challenged her when she went to retrieve the box holding the powers of the Dark Ones. _The Psycho Rangers_. They were sealed eons ago by the forces of good, who had then hidden the powers on the planet Uron. Since then, the rangers of space had monitored the planet and no one has seen the Dark Ones, but their myth lived in the Universe. Everyone knew it would suicide to unleash their powers--regardless of what "side" a being was on. The Dark Ones had been known to have an alliance only with themselves.Astronema felt a cold wind blow through her hair. "Astronema." She looked up at the large being that appeared before her. She gave a small bow to show respect. "What have you to tell me.""I have an idea to rid the universe of _all_ the rangers," Astronema revealed. She held up the box. "I'm sure you recognize what I hold in my hands."Dark Specter's face was always emotionless. Astronema had learned to rely on how he had said words in order to understand what was going through the evil being's mind. "The Dark Ones?" he asked. "How did you find them? They were hidden by the Rangers of the past who sealed them. Not even the great Zordon knows of their location.""I have my sources," Astronema replied with a sly smile. "They will destroy all in the Universe when they're unleashed.""Are you certain their alliance is with you? They were uncontrollable by even their own creator, who was alligned with me."Astronema hesitated. She had wondered the same question herself. _"In the end, nothing matters. As long as you can destroy everyone, your revenge will be fulfilled."_ Astronema nodded back at Dark Specter. "We will have our revenge, Dark Specter, I guarentee it. They'll listen to what I say."Dark Specter narrowed his eyes and responded a minute later. "This is your last chance, Astronema. I am tired of your failures."Astronema fought the urge to growl at him and kept her face expressionless. She gave Dark Specter a curt nod and watched as he disappeared. After he had left, Astronema clenched her fist. "Stupid, big-headed monkey," she mutterd under her breath. She looked down at the box again and frowned. _Where was Astronema?_ she wondered. She hadn't heard from the other woman in almost a day. - - - - - Brenan stopped outside of the door to the engine room and hesitated. Closing his eyes, he tried to get a hold of himself. _Am I even ready to do this?_ He had no other choice. He had to confirm this. . .he _had_ to make sure this was right.Taking a deep breath, he walked closer to the door and waited as it opened. The room was dark, and Brenan had to squint as he slowly walked in. He opened his mouth to ask for the lights to go on, but before he could get a word out, he heard, "Get out."Brenan forced himself to keep walking and didn't want to give a hint to the woman that he didn't want to go through this. "I said, _get out_," the voice repeated, this time, harsher."I'm not leaving," Brenan replied loudly. "Lights on." The lights flickered on suddenly and Brenan stopped in his tracks. In the middle of the engine room was Astronema, seated on the floor. It was a weird sight for Brenan. He had never seen Astronema as vulnerable as she was that moment, and he swallowed. "Get up."Astronema looked up at him. He noticed her eyes were red and she looked frail. She sat uncomfortable on the floor, leaning on her arm extended on the floor. "I'm not in the mood for company," she spoke through gritted teeth. "Unless you're here to destroy me. Go ahead."Brenan didn't respond. He reached into his pocket and fingered the locket. "I deserve it," Astronema continued bitterly. "All that I've done. . .this must be the way I'm being punished."Brenan clutched the locket and took it out of his pocket. "So it's true," Brenan said quietly. "You really are Karone.""**Shut up**! Just shut up!" Astronema yelled suddenly. She pounded her fists on the floor. "Don't call me that. Karone died when she was taken away and no one thought to save her.""What are you talking about," Brenan demanded. "Of coruse we were thinking to save you. We--""But you didn't find me until it was too late," Astronema replied bitterly. "No one thought to find me, no one was looking for me."Brenan shook his head. "We searched and searched for you everywhere, Karone. I had spent my whole life dedicated to finding you. When I became a ranger, I spent all my time trying to find you. That's why Zhane and I had been tracking Dark Specter and his forces. We were looking for you.""You were?" Astronema whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Ecliptor had told me that I was abandoned, and I believed him. I couldn't remember anything about being taken away until I had touched that ball. . .""The ball?" Brenan asked. Suddenly, he remembered what she was referring to. "The ball we used to train with to sharpen our telepathy skills.""Then everything suddenly came rushing back. I could see it happening as if it was happening again," Astronema whispered, as if in a trance. Then she closed her eyes and a pained expression crossed her face. "What have I done?"The hatred Brenan felt in his heart disappeared as he watched Astronema break down in front of him. Her pain was genunine. Astronema looked Brenan in the eyes. "I destroyed our dimension," she said, still whispering. "Everything I knew was there. . ."She closed her eyes. ". . .And everything you loved I destroyed too. My own flesh and blood. . .I had destroyed you in the worst way possible. . ." She started shaking uncontrollably as she broke down completely.Without thinking, Brenan bent down to embrace her in a warm hug. "Kill me. . .end my pain," Astronema sobbed. "I don't deserve to be here. I don't deserve anything."Brenan didn't know what to say and was at a loss of words. He held onto his sister tightly. "Don't say that, Karone," he whispered, trying to comfort the hysterical woman."How can you even comfort me?" Astronema yelled suddenly. "You must hate me, you _have_ to."Brenan shook his head. "I can never hate my own flesh and blood," he replied softly. "I have searched for you most of my life, and I've found you. I finally found you." His words only made Astronema cry harder. Brenan felt tears come to his own eyes as he tried to comfort his sister."I don't know where I belong, Andros," Astronema whispered. "I'm so lost, I'm so afraid."Brenan pulled away from her and gave her a gently smile. "I'll help you. We'll _all_ help you, if you let us." Astronema gave him a shaky look, but didn't reply. "We're not going to lose you again." Astronema took a deep breath and nodded. - - - - - "I wonder what's going on," Ashley said worriedly. She was pacing back and forth in front of the consoles. She looked at Andros and Cassie, who were seated at their usual positions at the controls. "Do you think they're okay?""You mean, did they kill each other yet?" Zhane asked. Ashley shot him a look, but said nothing. "DECA hasn't reported anything, so as far as we all know, they're fine." His demeanor turned serious. "Besides, I think Brenan needs this moment."Cassie nodded and turned back to Andros. She gave his hand a squeeze. "Did you want to go and talk to her too?" she asked quietly.Andros sighed and reached under his console. He picked up the ball. "I kept this here, with me on the ship at my controls. . .to remind me of her. To keep Karone close." He sighed. "I don't know if I'm ready to go and see her. I mean, I don't know what else to say.""She's your sister, Andros," Cassie said. "This is the sister you've been searching for, even before you became a ranger. Tell her anything. . .it'll help you straighten out how you're feeling."Andros looked at her. "This is just too weird, you know? I mean, it's sinking in, but I'm just so confused."Cassie nodded. "I understand." She smiled. "I'll tell you what--I'll even go in and talk to her with you." When Andros raised his eyebrow, Cassie said, "I promise, we'll make nice." Andros gave a small laugh, remembering how the two women were towards each other. He leaned his forehead on Cassie's."I don't know what I'd do without you," Andros whispered. He pulled back slightly to look into Cassie's eyes. "Thank you." Cassie smiled up at him and reached her hand up to stroke his cheek.The swishing sound of the doors opening made Andros and Cassie turn. Andros tensed as he watched Brenan and Astronema walk in. Holding onto Cassie's hand, he got up from his seat with Cassie follwing his lead."It's not over yet," Brenan spoke up, his expression serious."What do you mean?" Andros asked. He watched as Brenan and Astronema exchanged glances."Before I came on board, I had the Astronema of this dimension do something," Astronema said quietly. "She was so bent on revenge that I suggested something to her."The other rangers had gathered together. "What was it?" Carlos asked."Are you aware of the Dark Ones? They're powers in the form of the Psycho Rangers. I had told Astronema to find and release them into the universe."Andros' eyes widened. "What?" he demanded. "The Psycho Rangers?""We had been so busy with. . .other issues, I'm sure no one was able to monitor Astronema heading towards Uron," Astronema continued. "If she was able to release them, you won't defeat them.""We were able to defeat them in our dimension," Brenan spoke up. "We almost lost T.J. in the battles that we had with them." He shook his head. "I can only hope they weren't released here."Andros' heart pounded when he heard the danger sirens sounding through the Megaship. "Or maybe not," Zhane muttered as he rushed over to one of the side panels. After pressing a few buttons, an image came up on the screen."I think it's too late," Carlos said, his eyes widening at the sight. He turned back Brenan and Astronema. "Are those the ones you're talking about?"Astronema nodded and swallowed. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault." Brenan put his hand on Astronema's shoulder and looked at Andros. Andros couldn't read the expression on the other man's face._What are we going to do?_ Andros thought, turning back to the screen. The question remained on his mind as he watched the multi-colored beings make their way around Angel Grove._To be continued. . ._


	5. Ending What's Begun

Disclaimer: See Part One

Author's Notes: Sorry this didn't make its way out sooner. Just one more chapter after this one and the trilogy is complete.

Second Chance  
Part Five: Ending What's Begun  
By: stargazer1017

"It's too late," Astronema whispered. She shook her head. "You won't be able to stop them now."Carlos shook his head. "There has to be a way to stop them. They were created, so there has to be a way to destroy them.""You'll die trying," Astronema responded, emotionless. Everyone looked at her, speechless. Astronema sighed. "The Dark Ones are exact replicates of anything they choose. In this case, they chose the form of Rangers. Evil Rangers." She walked towards one of the side consoles. "I unleashed them into our dimension because I knew they would be a formidable enemy against the rangers. The Psychos are quick at everything. They pick up on patterns quickly, and their strength is unmatched by any other force in the universe."As she turned back to everyone, Cassie spoke up. "We still have to do something. This Earth. It's _our_ planet. We were born and raised there." She gave a quick glance at Andros and Zhane. "Or at least some of us were. . .but still. . ."Andros nodded and took her hand. "We'll do all we can to save Earth," Andros replied, squeezing her hand."You'll fail," came the once-former Mistress of Evil's emotionless response. "They'll defeat you.""We need a plan," Ashley spoke up. "I don't like this whole deal.""They've already been unleashed," T.J. replied, pressing away at the console. "Our databases have nothing on them."Brenan sighed. "We had to use up all of our strength to defeat them. Even so. . .you risk losing someone.""I can try and reason with the Astronema of this dimension," Astronema said, her voice barely above a whisper. Andros opened his mouth to speak, but Astronema continued, "She was the one who unleashed their powers. She has the best chance of containing them."A scream sounding through the screen made everyone turn. A woman was being hassled by the Black Psycho Ranger. "We can't stay here and watch--we've gotta go and help them!" Carlos said."I don't know if I want you going to the Dark Fortress by yourself," Andros replied, turning back to Astronema. "Something might happen.""I'll go with her," Brenan spoke up. He nodded at his sister. Astronema gave a small smile and nodded back at him. "You guys should hold off the Psychos." Andros headed towards the door, and the others followed in suit. When Cassie passed him, Brenan whispered, "Be careful."Cassie turned to him and gave a quick nod and smile. Slightly reassured, Brenan watched as Cassie turned back to follow her teammates out of the Command Post. "Any ideas?" Brenan asked, watching Cassie's retreating figure."We shock her," Astronema replied. She held up her locket. "I'm messed up, but I know she hasn't reached that point yet. She'll probably take the news better than I did.""And if she doesn't?"Astronema narrowed her eyes, but Brenan could read the worry in them. "We'll destroy that barrier if it gets there." 

The woman screamed again as she tried to shield her body from the blows the Psycho Ranger in Black. Carlos' eyes widened and he moved his lance to intercept the hit intended for the woman. Carlos staggered slightly from the blow, but stood his ground. "Back off," he growled at the evil ranger."You finally decided to come and play," Psycho Black sneered at the Black Ranger.Carlos moved between the woman and Psycho Black. "Are you okay," he asked the woman. The woman gave out a loud sob in response."Get her to safety, Carlos. We'll deal with them," Andros called out as he and the others rushed to him. Carlos nodded and helped the woman up. As Carlos and the woman scurried off, Andros looked back at Psycho Black. "Why don't you guys pick on someone your own size."Psycho Black gave a meanacing laugh. "You Rangers? You think you can handle us?" Just as he finished speaking, flashes of color surrounded him. "We're the Psycho Rangers," Psycho Black scoffed, gesturing at the other Psycho Rangers, "Nothing can destroy us.""Well see about that," Andros said, just as menacing. "There's only five of you, and six of us.""Numbers don't mean anything!" Psycho red yelled out. Suddenly, the Psycho Rangers shot forward. Cassie couldn't contain her surprised gasp. She backflipped out of the way of Psycho Pink's jump kick.Psycho Pink gave a shrill shriek as she moved towards Cassie with a punch, not missing a beat. _She's fast!_ Cassie thought, as she fought to dodge all of the attacks the evil ranger was throwing at her. "Ah!" Cassie cried out as Psycho Pink made contact with the side of her helmet. Cassie started rolling away as soon as she hit the ground. _I don't even have an opening to attack!_Several feet from Cassie, Ashley was taking on Psycho Yellow. She wasn't doing too much better. Ashley had her Star Slinger out, and had no luck in even hitting Psycho Yellow with so much as a blast. Suddenly, Psycho Yellow vanished. Ashley frowned behind her helmet. "Where did she go?" she wondered aloud."Ashley, behind you!" she heard Zhane yell. Ashley started to spin around when a hard kick landed on her back. As she hit the ground, she heard footsteps behind her. A yell caused Ashley to look up. Zhane was charging towards Psycho Yellow, but before he could even attack, Psycho Yellow threw a yellow energy blast at him."Zhane! Ow!" Ashley cried out as Psycho Yellow picked her up.Psycho Yellow gave an evil laugh. "Now, to finish this." Ashley tried to throw punches, but they were futile attacks. She watched in horror as a black cloud formed between the two. Ashley was speechless."Guys!" she heard Zhane yell. Ashley could only assume this was happening to the others as well.Now almost out of Ashley's line of sight, Cassie struggled with Psycho Pink. "Let me go!" Cassie yelled. Even though Psycho Pink had Cassie in her grasp, Cassie couldn't reach her. Extending her arms as far as she could, Cassie tried to reach for shoulders to try and shake her. Cassie grunted as she reached forward--and then gasped when she also saw a black cloud between her and Psycho Pink. Cassie shuddered when she felt the cloud on her._Now you're mine._Cassie tried to shake herself, but she knew she was physically motionless. _No!_ Cassie screamed in her mind. _It's like she's inside of my mind!_As quickly as it started, it had ended. Cassie felt her body hitting the ground. She groaned and tried to get up, but pain shot through her right arm, causing her to stay on the ground. _What just happened?_ She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. She looked up to see Psycho Pink standing above her."Finish them!" Cassie heard the faint call from Psycho Red. Just as Psycho Pink raised a black sword into the sky, Cassie shut her eyes. 

Brenan took a step back, trying to balance himself. His sister had a look of amusement on her face as she gave a small chuckle. "Sorry, I guess it's kind of rough the first time around," she said lightly."I should've just jumped on the Galaxy Glider," Brenan muttered, shaking his head. "I've never done this. . .teleporting thing. . ."Astronema gave another soft chuckle. "You don't have your powers. By teleporting, we enter here undetected by teleporting," Astronema explained. She walked forward, with Brenan in tow. Astronema focused on the only room lit. Suddenly, dark shadows blocked part of the light. "Hide!" Astronema hissed, moving behind a side panel on the hallway. She held her breath as Brenan moved behind her."What's going on?" Brenan asked.Astronema frowned. "I'm not sure," she replied. She tried to listen. "I think she's talking to people.""We need to get closer--""We're already close enough," Astronema cut him off. "If we get any closer, we're in danger of getting caught.""But we can't even understand what she's saying. For all we know, she could be giving the Psychos an order to destroy the others."Astronema growled. "Fine," she said. She slowly got up. "I'm going to go. She doesn't know that--" Astronema stopped as she searched for what to say. "--She doesn't know that I'm not on this side anymore." She turned back to Brenan. "I'll signal when it's okay."Brenan nodded. Astronema turned back towards the room and walked forward. She could hear the other woman talking, but still couldn't understand what was going on. When she was a few feet away, she concentrated on what her counterpart was saying."I'm in charge of you," Astronema heard the other woman growl. "Don't _question_ my orders!"There was silence. "Yes, my queen," a male voice spoke. "We'll follow as told." Astronema narrowed her eyes as several bright flashes of light burst out. "We would like to know, Queen, why you would pull us back." The voice was now in the room. Astronema realized the voice came from a Psycho Ranger."Dark Specter wants the rangers alive--for now."Astronema felt her heart pound. She remembered that happening in her dimension as well. _I wonder if they made it through_, Astronema thought as she listened. _Maybe what happens next will help us._"Dark Specter. . ." the male voice spoke again. There was another moment of silence. "As you wish." With that, the lights shone again. Astronema realized the Psycho Rangers has teleported out of the room. She quickly turned around and motioned for Brenan to approach.When Brenan was by her side, Astronema said, "Wait here. I'm going to approach Astronema myself." Brenan looked uncertain, but he nodded. Astronema took a deep breath and stepped into the doorway. "Astronema."The red-haired woman spun around. She gaved a relieved sigh when she saw who it was. "Oh, it's you. Where the hell have you been?" she demanded.Astronema tilted her head to the left and smoothed out her black hair. "I've been busy," she said. The red-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "Is there something wrong?"The other woman shook her head. "You just. . .you should different," she replied, narrowing her eyes. Astronema watched as she lifted her right hand and put her index finger on the locket around her neck. Astronema's eyes widened._Here goes_, Astronema thought as she took her own locket out of her pocket. "I see you have your locket," she said.The red-haired Astronema looked at her in surprise as she moved her hand away from her locket. "Yes. . .and you have one too."The black-haired woman held the locket up at her eye-level. "Of course I do." She walked forward. "Do you ever wonder what was in the locket?""I've seen what was in the locket," the red-haired woman narrowed her eyes."Really. What's in it?" came in innocent inquiry.The red-haired woman stared at her black-haired counterpart in surprise. "It's--me," she stammered. "What the hell has this to do with--""And what else is in it?""Some man," the red-haired Astronema said, waving her hand dismissedly in the air. "It doesn't matter who the hell he is."The black-haired Astronema gave weird laugh. "Funny how it doesn't mean anything to you, yet you still wear it." She started to walk even closer to the other woman. "Did Ecliptor ever tell you about it?" The other woman didn't respond, so she continued. "This is my locket. In my locket is a picture of me. . .and a picture of my brother.""I know," the red-haired Astronema said, narrowing her eyes. "Yes, Ecliptor told me. It doesn't matter. My brother is dead.""Wrong."Both women turned around to see Brenan walking in. "He's very much alive," Brenan continued."You!" the red-haired woman spat. An energy bolt appeared in her hand.Astronema's eyes widnened. "No!" she yelled. She quickly threw her own energy bolt to diffuse the one that had appeared in her counterpart. The red-haired woman gave her a confused glance. "Don't hurt him," Astronema said vehemently.The confused look stayed on the red-haired woman's face. Then she gave a snort when realization struck her. "Oh, I get it. You sided with _them_ now?""I sided with my brother," Astronema replied. She watched as something flashed in the red-haired woman's eyes. Astronema held up her locket again. Brenan came up beside Astronema, holding up his own locket. She watched as the other woman gasped.The red-haired woman started blinking rapidly. "No. . .""He's my brother," Astronema whispered. "My family. The family I thought abandoned--""Bitch!" the red-haired woman yelled. Without warning, she flew an energy bolt at the two. Astronema's eyes widened."Look out!" she yelled, moving her brother out of the way. As she dodged the two of them out of the way, she looked at the other woman and saw the fear on her face."You're lying! I don't know what you're doing, but you're _lying!_" the other woman started screaming. "You were the one who wanted revenge on these rangers, and now you're telling me he's _family_?"Astronema looked up at the girl. "I had wanted the destruction of the rangers. . ." she trailed off as Brenan helped her up. ". . .but I can't destroy my brother.""He's tricked you. **He's tricked you**! He made you think that--""He didn't," Astronema whispered. "I know he's telling me the truth." She watched as emotions ran loose through the other woman's face.Brenan nodded. "Karone. . ."The other woman turned to him, slowly shaking her head. "What did you just call me?" she whispered.Brenan gave him a gentle look. "You're my sister, Karone," he continued. "We finally found you."The other woman started breathing heavily. She looked around, confused. "I'm not your family. . ." she whispered furiously. Then her voice rose to a scream. "I'm going to kill all of you!" She lurched forward, her fist drawn.Astronema's eyes widened and she grabbed the other woman before she could make contact with Brenan. "Don't do this, Astronema," she whispered into the other woman's ear. "Stop all of this before you'll regret later. . .like I did. . ."The other woman screamed and struggled away from her grasp. Then in a flash of purple light, the red-haired woman was gone. Astronema and Brenan stood in silence, still in shock over what had just happened."What do you think she's going to do?" Brenan asked quietly. "I don't know if we got through to her."Astronema shook her head. "We got through to her, all right." She turned to look at her brother. "But I don't know if she'll join us or if she's finally hit that point." When Brenan looked at her questioningly, Astronema clarified, "If she got psycho like I am." 

_How can they even suggest something so stupid_, the woman tilted her head, moving the red hair off her shoulders. Astronema sighed. _My brother would never be a ranger. I have no brother._She looked around her surroundings. KO-35 was even more deserted than the last time she visited. A vision of ordering the monster to kill the Red and Silver rangers flash through her mind. She could clearly see the Silver Ranger fall from the blow the monster gave._"Zhane!"_ Astronema could also hear the Red Ranger call out to his comrade, just as if it was happening at the very moment._"Don't do this, Astronema. Stop all of this before you'll regret later. . .like I did. . ."_Astronema shut her eyes, the voice of the older woman still ringing in her ears. She started running towards the small forest of trees. _I don't know who to believe_, she thought silently. Suddenly, she stopped running. She was in the middle of a clearing. Thin trees lined the clearing. The breath caught in Astronema's chest as a weird feeling washed over her.She shut her eyes. _Why am I here. . ._she thought. Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to compose herself and looked around again. _It's that place. It's the same place._ She reached behind her neck and unclasped the locket.With shaky fingers, she opened the locket and studied the faces. On the right was the image of her younger self. Taking a deep breath, Astronema looked at the picture on the left. She knew it had been her brother, but she didn't know much about him.Looking up from the locket, Astronema took another look around her. _"Karone!"_ Astronema could hear the voice and she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she opened them again, this time seeing the facade of another past event.A boy and a girl playing with a ball. The little girl was wearing yellow, while the little boy wore red. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, half-up and half-down. The little boy's hair was tied behind his back.A scream sounded in Astronema's ears. _My screams_. The vision of a yellow monster suddenly picking her up, flashed in front of Astronema. She swallowed and started breathing heavily. _I can't do this._She spun on her heel and started to run out of the woods. When she saw the edge of woods draw near, she sped up. She gasped for breath as she neared the last tree. Astronema leaned against the trunk of the tree, trying to catch her breath. The scream still rung in her ears. She shut her eyes, trying to drown the scream out."Stop!"The voice brought Astronema out of her thoughts. She looked up and noticed a town was right in front of her. A man was running towards her, with a little girl in his arm. The little girl was screaming and crying.Astronema's eyes widened. "Stop it!" This time, Astronema saw who was calling out. It was a little boy. He was on the ground, crying out to the man who had taken the girl. Before another thought crossed Astronema's mind, she leaped forward and ran towards the man."Get out of the way, girl," the man sneered. He lifted his hand up to hit Astronema.As he lifted his hand, Astronema silently called her staff. The man stopped in place just as Astronema brought her staff to the man's neck. "I'm not _just_ a girl," she growled at the man. As the man eyed the staff, the little girl cried in fear. "Now let the little one go." The man hesitated for a moment. "I _said_, let her go. **Now**."The man swallowed and lowered the girl slowly. Not taking her eye off of the man, Astronema said, "Get out of here." The little girl stood shaking, rooted in the spot she stood in. "Go," she said, in a more gentler voice. When the girl took off running, Astronema narrowed her eyes at the man. "You make me sick. You--" she started moving the staff closer to the man's neck."--need--" the man started backing up."--to--" Astronema again moved the staff closer."--be--" The man stumbled and fell to the ground. Astronema moved the staff right onto his skin."--punished."She brought the staff up and was about to bring it down when a voice called out to her to stop. Astronema looked up and saw the little boy with the little girl. Her expression softened slightly when she saw them and realized they were both terrified.Another scream made Astronema look past the children. A woman and a uniformed man were running towards them. Astronema backed away from the man quickly. She looked back down at the children. "Take care of each other," she said to them. Then she disappeared in a flash.She teleported behind a tree not too far away to watch the scene. The man was brought to his feet by what Astronema assumed as a police officer. The woman bent down to engulf the children in an embrace. Astronema felt her heart break at the sight. She didn't even realize she was crying until her vision started getting blurry. She blinked and a single tear rolled onto her cheek. _I need to get out of here._

"Why would she call them back? Or more importantly, why would Dark Specter?" T.J. questioned, leaning against his console.The black-haired Astronema sighed. "Dark Specter wants to kill you at his own hands," she explained. "At least, those were his words in my dimension. Unfortunately, he didn't get that chance." She gave a bitter laugh. "I guess that's one of the good things about my being evil and taking out the whole universe."Andros frowned. _Everything was winding down. . .almost like it had in Brenan's dimension_. Andros was knocked out of his thoughts when D.E.C.A. spoke up. "Intruder on board."Pressing a few buttons on the console, T.J. scanned the ship. He looked up. "Right in front--" he was interrupted by the opening of the doors. Everyone whirled around to look."Astronema," Ashley gasped.Astronema looked down, the red hair falling to the sides of her face. "I didn't know where else to go," she said quietly. She looked back at the group. "I don't know. . ."Everyone gaped at the woman in suprise. The black-haired Astronema slowly walked towards her. "I understand what you're going through," she said, moving to stand right in front of her. "We'll help you." The red-haired woman looked at her in surprise, and then turned to everyone else. She was surprised when she was met with reassuring glances from everyone. Even Cassie gave her a nod. The red-haired woman turned back to her counterpart and nodded. 

"You summon me here for what reason?" Dark Specter growled. "You don't have the ranking to do so."The Psycho Rangers stood on the platform right before him. "We just. . .wanted to talk," Psycho Blue responded lightly."Yeah. You pulling us back on destroying the rangers was a big no-no," Psycho Pink spoke up."We work for no one but ourselves," Psycho Black said. He gave a sinister laugh."The leader of evil doesn't follow to the likings of you five," Dark Specter said. "Now leave, before I order your destruction."The Psycho Rangers laughed. "Sorry. Leaving here without completing our task isn't an option," Psycho Yellow said. Before Dark Specter could respond, the five formed themselves into balls of light. They joined as a large grey light and struck the large monster. They passed through him, and then turned around and passed him again. As they regrouped on the platform as the Psycho Rangers, Dark Specter started bursting into flames."You'll pay for your betrayal," Dark Specter vowed. Suddenly, his body shattered in a bright light that shot out in all directions. The shockwave of the blast followed not too far behind."Like we said," Psycho Red said, giving a sinister smile, "we work for no one but ourselves." He looked at his teammates. "The obstacle standing between us and destroying the rangers is out of the way. Now's our time to strike." _To be continued. . ._


End file.
